Browsing: Africa’s Economies

Oude Meester the alcoholic spirits brand once carried an advert many years ago that described the life trajectory of a successful businessman or businesswoman in a leading South African business weekly. In that advert was a picture of a bottle of brandy and its image was a timeline of the journey a businessperson takes starting right at the bottom when his or her entrepreneurial journey begins having started a business, grows that business, listing it on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and then culminates in that individual running for president of the country. 

The advert drew its context from the times. Back then Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale, political stalwarts within the establishment of the African National Congress had taken sabbaticals from the political sphere and had gone on to achieve notable success in the private sector. Both men had expressed ambition for the presidency. Only one of these men succeed …

Gareth Grobler is a digital currency entrepreneur and founded the cryptocurrency exchange iCE3X in 2013. He is a founding member of the UK Digital Currency Association. Gareth has over 15 years of experience in IT infrastructure & architecture development. He started iCE3X as a proof of concept and has been involved with other ventures including Merkeleon, a software company that builds exchange and processing software based out of Austria, with offices in Minsk and London. In this Q&A, Grobler provides clarity on developments in the industry within Africa and shares his views on cryptocurrency adoption on the continent. Edited excerpts follow:

What are the biggest obstacles for the mainstream adoption of crypto?

As humans, we are attracted to “easy”. Crypto is not easy because being your own bank requires responsibility and it is not something that is automatically within everyone’s skillset instinctively. As things progress and become more mainstream this …